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Give Me a Reason to Live

In a starkly beautiful work of transcendence and trial, Claire delves into the work of medieval painter Hieronymous Bosch, to explore religion, religious art, and the judgment of souls and bodies.

Through tests of both body and faith, Give Me a Reason to Live draws upon imagery of disabled people in Bosch’s apocalyptic paintings to question our present perspectives on “otherness” and “difference”.

Powerfully physical, visually striking, and set to a mesmerising score, Give Me a Reason to Live invites us to consider our own empathy, sympathy or indifference, in a work of both generosity and brutal immediacy.

Reviews

“There is so much heart and intellect, courage and integrity here: Cunningham pushes boundaries not just for disability rights, but for us all” ★★★★★ The HeraldFull article

“her work is delving further into politics, taking lessons from history to attempt to understand what is happening now”
Disability Arts OnlineFull article

“unflinching, brave … a journey as courageous as it was confronting”
Yahoo News AustraliaFull article

“This is a piece that – without literally speaking – speaks for itself. As in all great religious art, there’s no sentiment here, and no false sense of martyrdom or redemption.”
Daily Review, AustraliaFull article

“the festival highlight was…Give Me a Reason to Live…the work is incredibly beautiful… its great strength is its simplicity of composition and its air of self-sufficiency”
Real Time Arts, AustraliaFull article

“devastatingly powerful, unsettling and moving... as emotionally expressive and communicative as only the best dance can be.... The impression is that you have seen something unique and extraordinary, and afterwards you are left with an unsettling sense that your own attitudes have been challenged – and hopefully reset.” ★★★★ Salford NewsFull article

Credits

Running Time: 40 minutes
Recommended for ages 12+

Choreographed and Performed by

Claire Cunningham

Lighting Design

Karsten Tinapp

Sound Design

Zoë Irvine

Cello

Matthias Herrmann

Additional music

Nesciens Mater: Jean Mouton, Den Tod .: JS Bach

Costume

Shanti Freed

Mentors

Kristin De Groot (Bosch Project), Janice Parker (Scotland)

Production Manager/Re-Lighting

Gregor Knüppel

Publicity Photo

Ben Nienhus

Give Me a Reason to Live has been created through B Project, an artist-development initiative which invites European choreographers to research and create new dances inspired by Bosch. B Project is one component of the Bosch 500 Foundation’s major celebration of the visionary painter and his work.